Solar panels placed atop free standing structures combine power generation with, for example, shade production, which results in the maximization of the value and use of the airspace. Freestanding structures that generate electric or wind power from rooftop devices to electrically charge and run vehicles are known in the art. See for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 09-002259, U.S. Pat. No. 6,590,363 and United States Patent Publication No. 2010/0000596 published Jan. 7, 2010. More specifically, JP 09-002259 discloses a photovoltaic power generation apparatus and a cartridge-type storage battery for a vehicle, for example a train, which can be exchanged when the vehicle is parked in a charging station having the photovoltaic power generation mounted on its roof. U.S. Pat. No. 6,590,363 discloses a charging station having a duct, a wind power generator and a battery in which the duct is formed from upper and lower panels that include a solar panel. The battery stores the power generated by the wind power generator and the solar panel and the duct is formed to collect wind blowing toward the wind power generator and to increase the speed of the collected wind. United States Patent Publication No. 2010/0000596 discloses a dual-inclination support structure having an array of photovoltaic modules mounted on its roof and having multiple uses, such as advertising, water collection, energy transmission, and the ability to place the solar cells at different angles to improve yields. Still further, United States Patent Publication No. 2010/0108113 discloses an aero-elastic solar power-generating canopy that can be formed over supporting structures without requiring an existing roof.
Certain problems are associated with the foregoing and similar approaches. The rigid solar panel installations known in the art typically are mounted atop already existing roof structures. This makes them not readily accessible, often compromises roof integrity, and results in a rigid and expensive assembly. In addition, conventional rooftop solar arrays are typically designed and disposed along a single slope plane, which may not be ideal in some locales. Further, such installations are problematic when there is snow or ice buildup in the winter. Still further, inclined, fixed plane canopies with mono-planar wings cannot maximize solar collection capability without adjustment to the wing angle.
In view of the foregoing, the present inventor recognized that it would be advantageous to have a lightweight, multi-purpose solar canopy that can be assembled and disassembled easily and that maximizes solar collection capability at times associated with air-conditioning needs and peak utility needs without the need to adjust the wing angle. It was further recognized to be advantageous if the assembly was constructed of low-maintenance materials with integral finishes and if the downstream replacement or upgrade of the solar generation element represented minimal waste disposal costs and issues.
The present inventor thus proposed solutions to the foregoing and further issues and needs with his application Ser. No. 12/873,174. There, a solar canopy was disclosed with photovoltaic film or laminate panels mounted atop arcuate, curved canopy arcuate wings that met in a central trough along a structural spine of the wings. The opposed wings were supported by support columns with lower ends thereof embedded in the ground. Footings of, for example, concrete were disclosed to embed the lower ends of the columns. As such, the footings were of necessity buried relatively deep below the ground surface. In certain embodiments, water containment vessels were disclosed as being in fluidic association with the columns for receiving water collected by the wings and passed from the troughs.
This originally disclosed solar canopy structure has proven to accomplish plural advantages and, indeed, to be inventive over the prior art. However, further research and experimentation led the inventor to appreciate a number of challenges presented by the originally-conceived canopy structure, and this disclosure seeks to present inventive and structurally advantageous solutions to those challenges.
Under the teachings of the parent application, a major concrete footing was necessary under each column following the typical method of supporting a free standing column on grade. While such major footings presented a stable structure, the approach is now considered deficient in that major excavation work is necessary to accommodate the footings and, where applicable, the water containment vessels. The required excavation for such foots is significant and disruptive to the work site. Rather than being a more desirable efficient and direct installation of the solar canopy, the nature of the work came to approximate a major civil engineering project. Moreover, with the footing effectively establishing the base of the solar canopy, it required substantial use of concrete to provide the necessary weight and overall structural characteristics to resist displacement of the columns and the overall solar canopy structure in adverse weather conditions. Still further, the concrete required to form the footings has a large carbon footprint, is relatively expensive to make and transport, and has a very long and negative energy tail such that it is not environmentally benign. Even further, installation of the footings required tons of gravel as a backfill and as a drainage element enveloping the subsurface elements, again having negative energy repercussions. The large concrete footings also demanded substantial formwork, cost, and cure time during the installation process.
Witnessing the foregoing, the inventor appreciated a tangible need for an improved installation structure and method even beyond that disclosed in his original patent application. In particular, a need was appreciated for an installation method and structure that required reduced excavation and that exhibited a smaller need for retaining material and, in so doing, established a smaller carbon footprint and that could be installed with greater efficiencies in material and time.
The inventor has also come to be aware of issues and limitations relating to the original canopy wings. According to the inventor's original disclosure, each of the opposed canopy wings was founded on supportive wing arms with arcuate profiles and structurally reinforced cross-sections, such as I-shaped cross sections. The proximal ends of the wing arms are formed with or connected to semi-circular pipe sections with projected mating flanges aligned with the column axis. The flanges were bolted together to surround but not penetrate the column.
After additional structural and fabrication review, it was determined that, to be structurally effective, the flanges of the primary wing section would have to carry around the column with significant structural projection in each instance. Disadvantageously, forming such structurally supportive projections demands very deep composite casting forms at the proximal end of the wings. Milling such casting forms has proven to be complicated and awkward, and the creation of the resulting proximal ends to be time and labor intensive. Additionally, it has been found that the resulting semi-circular sections and flanges results in an undesirable aesthetic solution and that the structural integrity and durability of the formed dual wing arm structure is dependent, potentially disadvantageously so, on the performance of the fastening mechanism coupling the flanges. Still further, as a result of the protruding proximal ends where the flanges laterally project, the resulting wing arms prove difficult to stack for storage and transport.
A further avenue for desirable improvement over the inventor's original structure has thus been realized in the formation of wing arms that are efficient in construction, storage, and transportation, consistent and stable in performance, and aesthetically improved in appearance.